Consider these creative ideas for how to sell albums in a song-driven marketplace

Christian music has witnessed a lot of changes in recent years—some for the better, some for worse. The music world in general has seen an incredible number of sales online rather than at retail. More than two years ago, Apple announced customers had purchased 25 billion songs on iTunes. No wonder retailers are hurting!

While no one discounts the challenges Christian retailers have faced in selling music in their stores, they have discovered some creative ways to build store music sales. Let’s take a look at the positive changes in Christian music in particular and how you, as a retailer, can increase music sales for your store.

WORSHIP BOOM

One of the positive changes in the last decade is the growth of modern worship music with the expanded talent pool of artists, songwriters and ministries releasing albums, EPs and even vinyl records. It’s hard to believe there was a time when modern worship music was represented by perhaps only one out of the top 10 albums at Christian retail. Now, as many as seven of the top 10 albums can be classified as “modern worship.”

With this boom has come a shift in consumer behavior as shoppers focus less on CDs and more on individual songs. This means that retailers are faced with the challenge and opportunity of helping customers locate those songs. Perhaps the customer heard a Lincoln Brewster or Chris Tomlin tune on the radio, or they are singing an All Sons & Daughters or Planetshakers song at church. They may know the title and hopefully the artist who recorded it or wrote it. But can you help them find that song on a CD in your store? Yes, with a little help from the right resources and references.

A few key resource sites will help you match worship songs to albums and artists. Try these: praisecharts.com, allmusic.com or us.search.ccli.com. My favorite for looking up worship songs is praisecharts.com. When retailers search for a song there, the site provides a list of albums on which it is featured along with the album covers, which is quite helpful when you are trying to track down the CD. The site also allows you to search for songs by artist and theme.

SONG DISCOVERY

Another positive change in recent Christian music history is the addition of worship songs to Christian radio playlists. In fact, Christian radio is adopting such a large number of worship songs that many local worship leaders use radio as a method of song discovery as they look for new songs to add to their set lists.

Responding to this shift, I have seen some Christian retailers put together an endcap featuring the albums with the top radio songs, ideally with a blow-up of the current chart from Billboard Christian AC National Airplay (charts.bdsradio.com/bdsradiocharts /charts.aspx?formatid=21)

For “church songs,” which is a growing driver of sales at Christian retail, I would suggest the same thing. Create an endcap with CDs featuring the top songs being sung in U.S. churches with a blow-up of the top 25 songs. This list can be accessed through CCLI (Church Copyright Licensing International), the organization that tracks all of the songs being sung in churches and then ranks them according to use (us.ccli.com /worship-resources/top-songs/).

By posting these charts, retailers can familiarize their staff and customers with the songs that are being played at Christian radio and sung in local churches. Through an endcap with CDs that feature these songs, you will be better prepared to serve your customers as they come into your store looking for a particular song.

Your customers are hearing their favorite worship song in church as performed by their church’s worship team, so they have no idea who wrote or recorded it as opposed to a song identified on radio. No one is going to stand up in church and helpfully announce, “You’ve just heard ‘God, My Rock,’ from Paul Baloche.” A site such as praisecharts.com comes in handy in this case as it will give you several albums on which that song is included.

Because so much of Christian music is purchased as an impulse sale or as a gift, having charts of the top songs will aid your customers in being able to make quick decisions on which albums to purchase, especially if they are unfamiliar with the music. Your familiarity with the songs also could aid a customer in locating a song with content that speaks to a specific theme or need.

Remember, your personal recommendation of a song/album may be the tipping point for the customer. According to the marketing research firm Keller Fay Group, more than eight-in-10 purchases are influenced by people talking face-to-face. Personal recommendations are the No.1 factor across each stage of the purchase cycle, from becoming aware of a product through to the purchase decision. With that in mind, do you ever label your staff’s “favorites”? How many of us (back in the day), picked up a VHS and then a DVD at the local video store because “Sam” the employee recommended it and sometimes even hand-wrote a small review of the title?

Consider how you classify genres in your music department. More and more stores are arranging their CDs with less delineation of music styles, creating “super sections” that categorize styles that include rock, pop, adult contemporary and praise & worship. Although I can understand the reasoning for this type of categorization in music merchandising, it does present a problem for customers who are looking specifically for praise & worship or modern worship.

With the blurring of lines between Christian music genres, combined with the chart-topping success of modern worship, it can make sense to put these music styles together. Where, for instance, would you rack Lincoln Brewster, Rend Collective and Hillsong United? In the praise & worship section? Probably not, although their albums are considered modern worship albums.

This might be all the more reason to create an endcap that specifically addresses songs that are being sung in church. In that section, you will help identify the bigger worship albums that may be less obvious in a “super section.”

SAMPLER PROMOTION

Retailers also need to promote sampler collections. What better way to introduce customers to a variety of songs and artists at a great low price? Samplers are ideal song-discovery tools for all of your customers, especially worship leaders. As customers are introduced to new songs and artists, you are giving them a reason to come back to your store for additional purchases.

Not only are sampler CDs a great value, unlike the larger “big brand” collections, samplers are ideal as impulse buys, and many can be used in “Free With the Purchase of” promotions.

A number of Christian retailers have come up with some really creative ideas as to how they can get these samplers into the hands of more people in their communities. Some have offered them to local churches, youth groups and Christian schools at a reduced price for use in their fundraising efforts. The sampler CDs replaced overpriced, and some would argue unhealthy, chocolate bar sales. When you think of the eternal value comparison, it makes a lot of sense to encourage sampler sales and helps retailers build stronger relationships within their communities.

Although the challenge has never been greater, there are new strategies Christian retailers can implement that will serve their customers, many of whom want to take what they hear in church or on radio home with them so they can have a worship experience every day of the week.

Steve Nicolle is vice president of sales at Integrity Music and has been involved in the Christian music industry for more than 30 years. He invites your ideas on how to get worship music into the hands and hearts of more people. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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